Sweet Summertime!
Rest in Me
Summer is a time for rest and planning.
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (St. Augustine of Hippo).
A wise person once said, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” It is so vital to our spiritual health to spend time rejuvenating our mind, body, and spirit. Vacations, naps, and exercise help me break away from the school year chaos. These activities prepare me to re-focus for a new year.
These are great ways to relax, even if you are not a teacher. However, spiritual rest is different and more important. Spiritual rest may involve starting a new prayer routine. It could include walking while praying the rosary. You might also read a book about the life of a saint or other inspirational book. Participating in a Bible study or attending a retreat or religious conference are other options. My favorite way to “fill my cup” during the summer is to attend a retreat. I’ve attended women’s retreats and couples retreats. Both have proven to be excellent ways to refocus and deepen my faith.
“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Below is a picture of me in a chapel at Camp Covecrest in Tiger, Georgia. I was serving as a youth minister and attending camp with a group of teens. I found time each day to spend time in personal prayer. This allowed me the grace to minister to my teens in the best state possible.
Don’t Fail to Plan
Benjamin Franklin said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” At my school, if it’s not on the calendar, it’s not going to happen! I get it. At the end of the school year, you are tired and possibly burnt out. Your year will go so much smoother if you take time now to decide what you are doing and get it on the calendar.
First, let’s talk about calendars. I have found a new calendar that I love by Blessed is She. This calendar is perfect for Catholic ministry planning! It includes color-coded Liturgical Seasons, Holy Days of Obligation, Novenas, Saints Feast Days, and more! It includes a monthly calendar and daily planning pages. I ordered the mini calendar and the magnetic bookmarks. Check them out and let me know what you think!
This is the time to decide the types of events that you need to plan. There are different types of experiences that you can provide for your students. Here are some examples:
School wide assemblies
Those that involve students missing school
Optional prayer opportunities
Team only experiences
Some events are school wide, like Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and Penances Services. These types of events may require a special schedule. Other events, like retreats, involve students missing school. These will need to be on the main school calendar in advance so that teachers can plan around them. Optional prayer opportunities for students, like Bible Study, a Holy Half of Eucharistic Adoration, or morning Mass are excellent for students who are seeking a deeper, more personal relationship with Christ. These can be on the main school calendar so as to inform parents and students when and where they are happening. These may be more effective on a social media page that students follow. If you have a student, peer ministry team or retreat team, there will be special prayer activities for them. As for team only events, it’s up to you and your school whether or not these should be on the calendar. I always put these on the main school calendar, so coaches and teachers can plan around them if possible.
Here are the events on my calendar for August:
We celebrate Mass on Thursdays. We follow a liturgy schedule.
A Holy Half of Eucharistic Adoration is offered in the chapel on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:30 am – 8 am.
The last Thursday of each month, we meet in our small groups instead of Mass. We follow the liturgy schedule.
The Tuesday before small groups, we have school wide Eucharistic Adoration. There is a special schedule for this.
Campus Ministry Team Boot camp – Saturday, August 2nd from 9 am – 3 pm
Campus Ministry Team Retreat – Saturday, August 23rd – Sunday, August 24th (overnight)
There will also be class retreats on the schedule throughout the year. These may take a little more planning. If you are planning an off-site retreat (I recommend this!), you will need to work around available days for the facility. I host our class retreats at a local parish. They are so accommodating! They have a large parish hall and a huge outdoor space. This parish also allows us to use the church for Mass or Eucharistic Adoration. It is essential to become friends with the parish secretary!
Not only do you need to plan around the retreat-site availability, you also need to consider non-negotiable dates on the calendar. Here are some examples of non-negotiable events:
National Tests (if your school gives the ACT and PSAT on site)
Athletic State Playoffs
Homecoming Week
State playoffs and homecoming are events that students cannot or do not want to miss. There may be others, but these are some that I have learned (the hard way!) to work around.
Something else to consider is that you may need to plan around other clubs or athletic groups. If you share a space, you will need to communicate your events or work around other activities. For example, we celebrate Mass and most other school wide events in our gymnasium. During basketball season, I will communicate with the coaches about the best time to set-up.
Summer is the time to “fill your cup” and rest in Jesus. Allow time to plan your calendar for the year. This will help you avoid the stress of working around an already full calendar later. Hopefully, you won’t have to cancel events later because something else important is happening.
